Portrait

yelemba d’abidjain from cote d’vioire, doing their workshop at the gallery on the beira

the WOMAD sri lanka festival of drums ended last night, with a bang, on the galle face green. the organizers and the volunteer force popped open bottles of champagne, the artists hugged, talked and exchanged contact detials, groupies (and not so groupie-sh groupies reluctantly) went around, markers in hand. it was the end of a truly unbelievable showcase of the world’s best drumming and the world’s finest drummers.

over the past 5 days, the dhol foudation (india/UK) showed us how to party punjab style, seeming like we were actually under the spell of ‘bhang’, a part of the poppy flower which punjabi farmers used to consume to ‘take flight’ (hence the word ‘bhang-ra’), the drummers of burundi (burundi) showed us the thunderous beats and acrobatic steps that descend all the way from an ancient tradition that is indegenous to burundi, wicked aura batucada (singapore) showed us how to keep it young, and how to keep it wicked with their truly awesome fusion of traditional and contemporary, yelemba d’abidjain (cote d’ivoire) showed us the extraordinary, high-energy beats and movements from the deepest corners of tribal west africa, joji hirota and the taiko drummers (japan) showed us the traditions of drumming in japan, marvelling us with the strength, commitment and discipline it takes to be a good traditional drummer in japan, toto la momposina (columbia) showed us the sassy steps and infectious rhythms from native spanish and indian traditions, asere (cuba) showed us adventures in cuban soul, teaching us the salsa and the cha-cha while delivering powerful and vibrant music, drumming and vocals, the bays (UK) showed us the magic of improvisation, the sheer delirium of hearing seriously good techno played live, the chemirani zarb trio (iran) showed us iranian tradition, playing together like the family that they actually are, bill cobham (USA) showed us, quite simply, why he is ‘the bill cobham’, ravibandu and his ensemble (sri lanka) showed us all the reasons why we must burst with pride at our sri lankan identity, and trilok gurthu (india) showed us exactly why he is called the legendary drummer, composer and musician that he is, bringing all the aritsts together in one mind blowing finale in a way that only a master of his trade could have.

the dhol foundation boys, starting up a party during workshops at the gallery on the beira

johnny kalsi wanted to one day, make me the dhol foundation’s official on-the-road hospitatlity manager, i think i could live with that. it has been absoloutely amazing, working with the artists, and the committed WOMAD organizers and volunteers alike, meeting some of the most talented sound engineers, DJs, sound techincians, event co-ordinators, and of course, drummers, dancers and musicians the world has to offer. the artist were so laid back, so chilled, so modest, and super easy to work with. it has been a taste of professionalism at such a high standard, that most local artists lack, a taste of international understanding, and of what WOMAD is truly about : bringing the cream of all the world’s cultures and countries together on one stage, to create a stunning symphony of traditions and people from places that are as different as they are alike.

the grand finale, galle face green. johnny kalsi (the dhol foundation) in the center, bill cobham right at the back on his oh-s0-distinctive kit, the drummer andy from the bays on the kit next to him, the ravibandu ensemble on the left and the right, yelemba d’bidjain on the right, trilok gurthu in the middle, conducting the dummers.

note : images borrowed from dreamwizard. (on kottu)